The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Orange Cardamom Cookies

 

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Orange Cardamom Cookies 

This amazing recipe comes from Maman's Homesick Pie cookbook. I don't feel comfortable writing out the recipe since I don't have permission, but I did find it online here from somebody who either had permission or felt more comfortable.

As you can see, it's a pretty small list of ingredients, but they make a big impact! Two oranges zested makes a lot of zest!

Here's the creamed butter mixture with the zest mixed in. It smells amazing.

The dry ingredients. I had poppy seeds on hand for a previous recipe, so this was nice to not have to buy them just for this! If you do ever need them, they're in the spice aisle, just fyi.

It looks pretty dry, but don't worry, it does come together with enough kneading.

Here it is, fully incorporated.

And rolled out to chill. These are slice-and-bake cookies that are essentially shortbreads. The dough can be frozen and thawed before baking. But you can also bake them all and freeze and thaw the finished cookies.

The pre-baked cookies ready for the oven.

And the final product. I broke one open to show the texture. As you can see, they don't spread out really, so you can put a ton of them on a baking sheet to bake and not worry about them sticking together.

These are buttery and orangey and amazing! I don't think the cardamom comes through very strongly, so I might increase it next time. These are really fast and easy to make. They're perfect for holiday bakers who are short on time. Definitely give these a try.

Happy Baking!

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Moravian Spice Cookie Wafers

 

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas-Moravian Spice Cookie Wafers

Today's cookie recipe is from this website. I love a good spice cookie and these did not disappoint! I made a half batch of this one and the recipe divides really easily. This is one of those spice cookies that calls for savory spices like pepper and mustard, but it all blends together really well. Don't be grossed out by the thought, I promise it's delicious!

I finally remembered to do a gathered ingredients shot!

Here are all the dried ingredients. You can see it's a lot of spices!

The very important creaming step. There's not a lot of fat in this recipe for the amount of cookies it makes. The crisper the cookie, the less fat is in it. That's a good rule of thumb to keep in mind when trying to eat a little healthier.

Mixing in the molasses.

You can see it's pretty dry when you mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. It's discouraging at first and you might think it's not going to work, but just keep kneading it. I had to turn it out and knead it by hand, but it eventually incorporated properly.

Here's what it will eventually look like, so don't give up!

I've never really tried rolling out the dough between waxed paper before, but it worked pretty well. It stuck a little so I might flour it first next time, but otherwise it worked really well.

Here they are ready for the oven!

And here they are out of the oven!

These cookies are really crispy, and really spicy. Not spicy hot, but just spiced. It's the kind of spice that sticks with you. You should eat them on a really cold day and it'll warm you up from the inside out. This is one of the most wintery ones I've made so far. They really scream Christmas. I highly recommend these!

Happy Baking!

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Danish Shortbread

 

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Danish Shortbread

This recipe seems very simple. Deceptively simple. You see the list of ingredients and think, "How can this possible be delicious?" Let me tell you, though, it's a really good shortbread cookie recipe! This recipe came from this book:

I can't type out the recipe since I don't own the rights to this book, but I highly recommend it!

Here is the entire set of ingredients for the cookies! That's it!!

The creaming stage, I just don't bother with the mixer anymore. By hand does just fine!

Post creaming, pre-egg.

All the ingredients, I ended up using a pastry blender to mix the butter in better.

It seems like it's really dry, and I found it easier to turn it out onto the counter and knead it there. It takes a bit.

This is what it looks like when you finish kneading it. It comes together really nicely. I was not sure about the recipe saying you don't need to chill the dough, because you always chill shortbread dough, but I followed what the recipe said, and I was very pleased with the results!

I cut them into diamonds, and they ended up being a lot of sizes, but it's good for variety!

The recipe says you can top them with sugar and crushed almonds, if you wanted to. I didn't have the right kind of almonds, so I tried something else. I took regular sugar and added a little almond extract to it. It makes a wet mixture, but I was able to sprinkle it over the cookies, as you can see above.

Here is the finished product. The sugar is good but I don't know that the almond flavor comes through very strongly. The cookies are shockingly addicting. I don't know why shortbread is so simple but so good. It's a great cookies for the holidays, because they are low maintenance and quick to make. It wouldn't be Christmas without them!

Definitely try this cookbook and this recipe. It's well worth it! Happy Baking!

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Sweet Sorghum Spice Cookies

 

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Sweet Sorghum Spice Cookies

This was another great, easy cookie to make. I have picked a good batch of recipes this year! I found the recipe from this website, which has a lot of recipes I want to try! I have sorghum on hand, but note, it is a regional item and if you are outside the Southern United States, you may not be able to find it at grocery store. I had to special order it online. The recipe says that you can substitute molasses, but it really will alter the flavor. Sorghum syrup is sort of a cross between molasses and honey. It's subtler than both, so the spices in this really come through strongly. Molasses will make it taste more like a traditional molasses cookie.

Here we have the dry ingredients. It's not fully mixed yet, but the spices don't show up in the picture well when I mix it. This has a good amount of spices in it!

Here is the bottle of sorghum syrup and what it looks like in the bowl with the butter. It does resemble molasses, but it smells and tastes different.

Fully mixed. It's grainy, but don't worry, it's fine when it's all combined.

At this step, you chill it. Definitely don't skip this step.

Post chilling. I divided these into the two dozen but only made six to try. The last molasses-type cookie I made and froze for this project didn't thaw very well, so I thought I would freeze the dough before baking it and thaw and bake as desired. I think that'll hold the texture of the cookie better.

Rolled into balls and rolled in the sugar. Ready to bake!

If they're all connected, it only counts as one cookie, right?! These took longer than the recipe calls for by about 4-5 minutes. Keep an eye on them.

They're delicate when you take them off the baking sheet, but they hold up well once they cool off. As you can see, they do resemble a molasses cookie, though maybe a bit lighter in color.

You can see the nice fluffy texture inside the cookie.

These are really tasty! The spices come through very strongly, and are perfect for this time of year. Santa would be very happy to have these show up on his plate of cookies on Christmas Eve! Good luck tracking down sorghum syrup, and Happy Baking!

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Orange Cranberry Walnut Biscotti

 

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas: Orange Cranberry Walnut Biscotti

This is a recipe I've had in my recipe collection forever, but have not ever tried it yet. I tracked down the original source: Gourmet Magazine, 1998. That makes this recipe 23 years old, and I've never tried it! It's sad, because this was really not hard to make, and really delicious. I could have been enjoying this for so much more of my life!!

Because I tracked down the source of the recipe, I will be sharing it here, instead of writing it out.

It says peel and all, but trust me, you don't want the pith of an orange in this. That would make the entire thing bitter and disgusting. Zest the peel and then peel the orange segments from the rest. It's a little more work, but so worth it in the end.

There's nothing better than this smell right here.

All of this can be done by hand, no need for a mixer. Here is the sugar/egg mixture after the orange has been mixed in.

The dough does get thick, but it's ok.

Adding the cranberries and walnuts will likely have to be done by hand, unless you have incredible upper body strength, which I do not. Especially post-Covid! Just make sure you use clean hands and/or wear gloves.

These roll out really easily and will fit onto one sheet pan.

Here were are, after the first baking step. They puff up and crack on top, but that's normal.

You will need a second sheet pan for the second baking after you slice them. Now, this recipe says it makes 6 dozen, but based on the 1/2" thickness for slicing, I only got half that. You can slice them thinner, but they will probably crumble more, and get way harder. Biscotti are supposed to be hard, but I like them to be not tooth-breakingly tough.

I baked it for the 12 minutes, then flipped them over and switched positions of sheet pans in the oven and baked them for the last three minutes.

This is the final product. They taste so good! They are crispy on the outside, but soft in the middle still. If you wanted, you could melt some white chocolate and drizzle them over the cookies, but I'm just going to keep them as is.

Biscotti can be done to your liking. Want them harder? Cut them thinner and bake them longer. Want them softer? Cut them thicker and bake them for less time. 

Orange, cranberry, and walnut are a fantastic flavor combination for the holidays. You could do these for Thanksgiving or Christmas and they'd fit in just fine in either setting. Definitely give these a try!

Happy Baking!